1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an armored booth and more particularly to a protective enclosure that permits the occupants to approach armed individuals with reduced risk of harm to the occupants.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
In recent years, there have been frequent situations in which a school, place of business, home or residence is occupied or taken over by an armed individual or individuals, such as, a deranged student, disgruntled employee or unhappy lover. In many cases there are hostages involved. The police authorities are faced with a difficult problem. In order to obtain access to the premises and arrest the perpetrators, they must risk personal injury or death. Frequently the result is a standoff with the hope that the perpetrators will come to their senses and surrender and that any hostages will not be injured or killed. The desired outcome does not always happen, however, and it is therefore desirable that improved means be provided for aiding the police authorities in overcoming such perpetrators and rescuing any hostages.
There are available in the prior art various devices which might be used in such situations. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,101 to Zevuluni discloses a mobile maneuverable crowd control shield within which a policeman can be protected and can move from place to place. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,546 to Chaires discloses a bulletproof or armored shield that protects the occupant and allows the occupant to move from place to place. The U.S. Pat. No. 1,253,964 to Hack discloses a guardhouse that is movable from place to place by the person inside the guardhouse who is protected by the guardhouse. These devices, however, are not completely satisfactory, in that they do not, for example, deal with the problem of the policeman entering a building or with the perpetrator shooting at the feet of the policeman as the policeman moves toward the perpetrator.
One embodiment of the armored booth of the present invention might involve a housing formed of armored material. The housing has walls having gun ports therein adapted to permit gun shooting through the gun ports from the interior of the housing. There are also provided windows formed of transparent armored material mounted in the walls. Wheels are mounted on the housing and are adapted to support the housing above a ground or floor surface. A flange is mounted on the housing so as to extend inwardly above at least a portion of the wheels whereby a person inside of the housing can stand on the flange to prevent gun shots from harming the feet of the person.
Another embodiment of the armored booth of the invention includes a housing formed of armored material. Wheels are mounted on the housing and are adapted to support the housing in spaced relation above a ground or floor surface. The housing has a transverse dimension that is less than 36 inches. The housing and wheels have a vertical dimension which is less than 82 inches whereby the housing is capable of passing through a rectangular building door opening of a dimension 36xc3x9782 inches or greater. The housing has walls having windows formed of armored glass the walls having gun ports therein adapted to permit gun shooting through the gun ports from the interior of the housing.
Still another embodiment of the invention is an armored booth including a housing formed of armored material. The housing includes walls which have gun ports therein adapted to permit gun shooting through the gun ports from the interior of the housing. Windows formed of transparent armored material are mounted in the walls. The walls include a rectangular front wall, a rectangular rear wall and two rectangular side walls. Wheels are mounted on the housing and are adapted to support the housing in spaced relation above a ground or floor surface. The front wall and housing have a horizontal dimension that is less than 36 inches. The housing and wheels have a vertical dimension that is less than 82 inches whereby the housing is capable of passing through a rectangular building door opening of dimensions 36xc3x9782 inches or greater. The front wall has a pair of arm openings therein. There is also provided a pair of armored closure members each having an upper edge that is pivotally attached to the front wall above a respective opening of said pair of arm openings. Each of the closure members is hung over a respective one of the arm openings and closes the respective arm opening but is pivotal outwardly away from the front wall to permit a person inside of the housing reaching his arm through a respective arm opening to open a door handle of a door in a building door opening whereby the armored booth may be moved through the building door opening.
Still a further embodiment of the armored booth involves a housing formed of armored material. The housing includes walls having gun ports therein adapted to permit gun shooting through the gun ports from the interior of the housing. Windows formed of transparent armored material are mounted in the walls. The walls include a rectangular front wall, a rectangular rear wall and two rectangular side walls. A first pair of wheels is mounted on the front wall and a second pair of wheels is mounted on the rear wall. The wheels are adapted to support the housing in spaced relation above a ground or floor surface. The first set of wheels is swivel mounted whereby the wheels can turn in multiple directions. The second pair of wheels is swivel mounted whereby the wheels can turn in multiple directions but also are restrainable so that they can turn only in a plane extending front to rear of said housing. Bearings are mounted on the rear wall and are movable to restrain the second pair of wheels to turn in only a front to rear extending plane relative to said housing.
Still a further embodiment of the invention is an armored booth comprising a housing formed of armored material. The housing includes walls having gun ports therein adapted to permit gun shooting through the gun ports from the interior of the housing. Windows formed of transparent armored material are mounted in the walls and wheels are mounted on the housing and adapted to support the housing above a ground or floor surface. The walls include a rear wall that has a door opening in the rear wall. A door formed of armored material is hung on the rear wall and is pivotal in a horizontal direction between a first position closing the door opening and a second position opening the door opening. Posts are mounted on the rear wall. The door is hung on the posts and is liftable off of the posts to serve as an armored shield.
Another embodiment of the invention is an armored booth comprising a housing formed of armored material. The housing has a wall with a window formed of transparent armored material mounted in the wall. The wall has a pair of arm openings therein. There is provided a pair of armored closure members each having an upper edge pivotally attached to the wall above a respective one of the arm openings and closing the respective arm opening but pivotal outwardly away from the front wall to permit a person inside the housing reaching his arm through the respective arm opening to open a door handle or a door in a building door opening whereby the armored booth may be moved through the building door opening.
Still a further embodiment of the invention involves providing a leveraged lift for lifting an armored housing over obstacles when the housing wheels are impeded.